


What's Love Got to Do With it?

by thearkwrites



Series: The Ugly Bug Ball [2]
Category: Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Fluff and Crack, M/M, Mech Preg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:25:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6278893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thearkwrites/pseuds/thearkwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saberhorn plays nice, Kickback's still not sure how to take it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's Love Got to Do With it?

**Author's Note:**

> Because I dig weird.
> 
> Sire!Saberhorn and Carrier!Kickback are the two things I never thought I needed until now.

“Kickback, don't touch that!”

A confused bleat was all Kickback managed before the patchwork pony was slapped out of his servos. The impact of the slap sent the plush toy flying several meters into the air in a perfect arc. Kickback could only watch in horror as the multi-colored pony disappeared behind high-reaching mountains of Earthen junk, never to be seen again. He turned to Saberhorn, sputtering and shaking with impotent rage. 

“Hey, what gives? I _needed_ that!” His faceplate was slowly turning a pleasant shade of blue, ruining any chance of the other 'Con taking him seriously.

“Darling, please. We can do so much better.” Saberhorn scoffed and sounded much too pleased with himself. He moved closer to the green mech and, having produced a cleaning cloth from his sub-space, began to gingerly clean the thin servos.

Kickback's faceplate became an even brighter shade of blue. “And don't call me that either!” He all but screamed as he wrenched his servos from Saberhorn's grip.

Saberhorn regarded the action with nothing more than an airy laugh. “What, darling?”

“ _That_! 'Darling'!” Kickback shuddered and slowly backed away from the taller mech. “It's weird! And I don't like weird!”

“No, apparently you 'like' objects that make me question your personal preferences. But worry not, darling. I've got enough good taste for the two of us. Or, should I say,” Saberhorn approached Kickback and, without warning, placed his servo against the swell of Kickback's distended belly. “the ten of us.”

Kickback leapt backwards, nearly falling over. Luckily, Saberhorn was quick enough to catch him. “Easy there. You're not quite as nimble as you used to be.”

“Th—thanks.” Kickback murmured as he was helped back onto his pedes.

“Not a problem, dear.” Saberhorn said with a sweeping bow.

Kickback made a face. “Yuck. Don't be callin' me that either.”

“What would you have me call you, then?”

Kickback hesitated. “I—anythin' but those two. Hearin' 'em comin' from you is just all kinds of weird.”

“Really?” Saberhorn rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his lip-components pressed together in a tight line. “It sounds and feels rather apt to me. As the Sire to your forthcoming brood,” Kickback made yet another face. “such intimate caprices are warranted, yes?”

“Yes? No? Look, if you're gonna be hangin' 'round me instead a chasin' Autobot tail, the least you can do is talk like a normal bot, alright?” Kickback palmed his belly tenderly. His expression softened. “They can hear you already, and the last thing I want is to have sparklings who talk like _you_.”

Saberhorn quirked an optic ridge, almost accusingly. “Oh? But you're perfectly alright with utilizing refuse to build your nest? Our sparklings' nest?”

“I—we deal with cards we're dealt, alright?” Kickback said with a tone of finality then went right back to scavenging for toys.

Saberhorn assisted him in his search, digging and poking through trash while gingerly wiping his digits clean every few breems. They did this in silence for what felt like hours. Kickback would find a discarded toy that would almost immediately garner Saberhorn's approval, then Kickback would have no choice but to throw that toy away and resume excavation. It was a pattern that went on, without fail, until the yellow sun above their helms slowly transformed into a deep shade of orange descending upon the horizon. Still, a toy hadn't been found. Kickback's patience began to wear thin, while Saberhorn remained as resolute as ever with his ridiculously high standards.

“Oh, it's hopeless.” The beetle-con moaned.

“ _Tell me about it_.” Kickback grumbled as he stretched his sore and aching body.

“I _told_ you to stay back at the base.” Saberhorn told him as he approached.

“Yeah. You _told_ me, but you didn't _ask_. You ain't Glowstrike or Scorponok, alright?” Kickback retorted sourly as the other mech supported him. “You ain't in any position to go barkin' orders at me.”

Saberhorn pouted, but maintained his hold on the gravid Kickback. “But I _am_ the Sire of your sparklings. Surely that can afford me a few privileges from you?”

“You didn't ask me for that, either.”

“No, our union was per Glowstrike and Scorponok's orders.” Saberhorn said with a heavy sigh. He rubbed the expanse between his shuttered optics.

“Tired?” Kickback asked.

“Quite.”

“Me too. And we _still_ don't have any toys for the nest.” Kickback scowled, expression growing dark. “Another day—with you—wasted. Thanks a lot.”

Saberhorn appeared to take the ire being directed at him in stride. “Truly a pity.” He said, tone and features indiscernible. “On the one hand, our brood isn't due just yet, so their admittedly barren accommodations won't yet be judged by their discerning little optics. On the other, it means that you'll have to sleep through another night,” The servos he had around Kickback's gangly arms squeezed the limbs with a surprising gentleness. “With _me_.”

The act generated a rumble of annoyance from Kickback. “You don't sound too upset about it.”

“Oh, believe you me, I am.” Saberhorn told him as they descended the piles of junk. 

With the night creeping upon them, it was in Kickback's best interests to return to the base to recharge. And, with Kickback too full of sparklings for fluid movement, it was entirely up to Saberhorn to provide transportation for them both. Though that would have to wait, however momentarily. For now, they would rest very briefly before making their way back to the rest of the hive. A small clearing just a few hundred meters away would suffice.

“Addressing you with quaint terms of endearment is one thing.” Saberhorn continued. “But keeping you warm through the night with my own frame is another. My Sire protocols must be among the best there is.”

Kickback's optics lolled in his helm. “Keep tellin' yourself that.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Kickback, it's _duty_ not _love_ that continues to drive my kindness towards you.”

“It does.” Kickback said. “Because come on, what's love got to do with it?”

“Nothing.” Saberhorn answered decisively.

“Nothin' at all.” Kickback repeated for emphasis and to convince himself even further that, indeed, it was their duty to their team that had brought them together like this. But a small, niggling thought at the back of his processor—one that appeared to spring up every time Saberhorn held or touched him—said otherwise. Normally, he'd ignore it and push it back into depths. But with Saberhorn's body this close to his, with the clearing just before them and a blanket of stars twinkling overhead, the thought refused to go away. And there it stayed with him as he and Saberhorn rested in each other's arms.


End file.
